The present invention relates to a valve comprising a valve body which forms a fluid channel or passage and an inner cavity having a geometrical axis being substantially normal to the axis of the fluid channel and provided with an opening located in a plane lying substantially normal to the geometrical axis, and further comprising closing means having a movable closing member and a support which accommodates the closing member and delimits a channel which is aligned with the fluid channel, the closing means being accommodated in the inner cavity by being inserted through said opening, and the support is mounted in the valve body with a connector means.
This type of valve is intended for use in an installation for gas or oil production, in particular in an underwater installation.
The closing means may be dismounted and the closing member also has a channel which can be displaced either by translation or by rotation between an "open" position in which the channel is aligned with said fluid channel in the support, and a "closed" position in which the channel in the closing member is not in correspondence with the fluid channel of the support.
European patent application 0132989 describes such a valve in which the connector device comprises a locking collar provided outside the valve body and comprises two halves which are pivotable about a fixed axis on the valve body. There is provided a circular groove in the inner surface of the collar. This groove is adapted to cooperate with a flange on the valve body and a support member so that the closing means is united with the valve body. At the opposite side in relation to the pivot axis the two collar halves are adapted to be connected to each other by means of attachement elements.
This connecting or locking system has several drawbacks. In the first place the movable parts of the connector device are carried by the valve body which is installed in a pipeline system in a non-dismountable manner, which is in turn located on the seabed. This means that a reduced function of the collar as a result of shocks occurring during mounting or retrieving of the movable closing means, may involve great difficulties in repairs and will necessitate long interruptions of the production at the installation. Besides, the movable elements which are located outside the valve, will be subject to the marine environment, which is highly corrosive. The pivot axis as well as the attachement elements are attacked by the seawater, possibly leading to functional problems. Finally, the connection and disconnection of the arrangement, which usually take place by means of a robot, necessarily involves several operations, namely on the attachement elements and swinging of both collar halves by rotation about the pivot axis.